The fight of faith DOES include staying in the Word.

By: Steve Huston

I’m not a pastor, just a guy that found that the answers to my pornography/sin problem years ago was found in God and in His Word!
I found help and victory.

I have found since my early 20’s that the power to fight through the difficulties and the sin that are common to all of us come through the power of God – by staying in His word and having a prayer life that has grown richer, more indepth and more personal with each passing year.

A real voice for God is John Piper.

John Piper is a highly regarded preacher out of Minneapolis.  He states the following in a recent interview with Bible Study Magazine.
Here is one of several questions:

BSM: How can we make time for the Bible?

PIPER: I don’t think it’s merely a function of time. It’s a function of earnestness and faith. A person must build into their life a regular encounter with God, personally and quietly meditating on His Word.

I think the early morning is the best time, because it sets the tone for the whole day. If for some reason that time can’t work, then midday or evening.

Get the Bible, the time, and the place-make sure it’s planned-and
then meditate on a portion of Scripture: a chapter, verses, or several
chapters, depending on what you can do. Memorize some verse, or
even phrases, that appear especially precious to you.

For more of this interview:
http://www.biblestudymagazine.com/john-piper/

As a guy who was called into Christian activism back in the mid 80s, I’m thankful for a great sense of God’s call upon my life. He has been so faithful to me through it all.

By His grace, I continue to fight the fight of faith – faithfully.

One of the things that saddens me is to see the faltering from leading figures, and, in too many cases, individuals who name the name of Christ.  Priests, pastors, teachers, law enforcement officials, judges.

At those occasions – when I read of the tragedies, I wonder how that can be.  Were they in the Word? Did they have a staunch prayer life? Did they have a love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?

Honestly, I don’t think they could have been in true fellowship with Christ for them to have fallen into immorality.

In World Magazine today, I see of another faltering of a Christian man.  Read it and examine yourself. Is God speaking to your heart about your relationship to Him?
http://www.worldmag.com/printer.cfm?id=15779

We can do all kinds of good things: Go to tea parties, sign petitions, attend and speak up for truth and righteousness at Town Hall meetings, support ministries like ADA, tithe to our church, but if we are phonies, it is all sinking sand.

Christ calls out to each of us to know Him, to walk with Him, to love Him, to have fellowship with Him, to walk in obedience to Him.

Does this kind of counsel and email make me a nut case?  One person wrote yesterday:

“I have unsubscribed to this site numerous times. I did not subscribe to it in the first place.  I think you are nuts. Take me off NOW!!!!!”

Editor’s note: I immediately unsubscribed them. It’s the first that I had heard of their desire to unsubscribe.

I responded in the following way:

Dear Denise:

I’m sorry for any convenience that I may have caused.  I have unsubscribed you as you requested.

Well, at least you should know that though I’m nutty in your eyes, I do have a few things going for me.

I have been happily married for 39 years.  My four children are doing pretty well all in all.  I don’t think you would find them nutty and they certainly aren’t.  Of course, I don’t know what you mean by nutty but my values probably seem off the deep end to you.  At any rate, I wish you well.
Sincerely,
Bill Johnson

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Recently, Steve Ensley, President of American Family Online spoke authentically regarding living for Christ in the midst of the darkness of pornography and the Internet.
See:
http://www.americandecency.org/2009_conference.html

Bill Johnson
American Decency Association
P.O. Box 202
Fremont, MI  49412
231-924-4050

bjohnson@americandecency.org
http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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